U.S. Inflation Rate, $70,000 in 1913 to 2018

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index, prices in 2018 are
2,436.43% higher than
average prices throughout 1913.
The dollar experienced an average inflation rate of 3.13% per year during this period, meaning the real value of a dollar decreased.

In other words, $70,000 in 1913 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $1,775,502.86 in 2018, a difference of $1,705,502.86 over 105 years.

The 1913 inflation rate was 2.06%. The inflation rate in 2018 was 2.44%.
The 2018 inflation rate is higher compared to the average inflation rate of 1.77% per year between 2018 and 2019.

Inflation by Country

Inflation can also vary widely by country. For comparison, in the UK £70,000.00 in 1913 would be equivalent to £7,868,523.93 in 2018, an absolute change of £7,798,523.93 and a cumulative change of 11,140.75%.

Compare these numbers to the US's overall absolute change of $1,705,502.86 and total percent change of 2,436.43%.

Inflation by Spending Category

CPI is the weighted combination of many categories of spending that are tracked by the government. This chart shows the average rate of inflation for select CPI categories between 1913 and 2018.

$70,000 in 1913 has the same "purchasing power" or "buying power" as $1,775,502.86 in 2018.

To get the total inflation rate for the 105 years between 1913 and 2018, we use the following formula:

CPI in 2018 - CPI in 1913CPI in 1913

×

100

=

Cumulative inflation rate (105 years)

Plugging in the values to this equation, we get:

251.10683333333 - 9.99.9

×

100

=

2,436%

Comparison to S&P 500 Index

The average inflation rate of 3.13% has a compounding effect between 1913 and 2018. As noted above, this yearly inflation rate compounds to produce an overall price difference of 2,436.43% over 105 years.

To help put this inflation into perspective, if we had invested $70,000 in the S&P 500 index in 1913, our investment would be nominally worth approximately $1,454,712,511.36 in 2018. This is a return on investment of 2,078,060.73%, with an absolute return of $1,454,642,511.36.

These numbers are not inflation adjusted, so they are considered nominal. In order to evaluate the real return on our investment, we must calculate the return with inflation taken into account.

The compounding effect of inflation would account for 96.06% of returns ($1,397,292,575.19) during this period. This means the inflation-adjusted real return of our $70,000 investment is $57,349,936.17.

Investment in S&P 500 Index, 1913-2018

Original Amount

Final Amount

Change

Nominal

$70,000

$1,454,712,511.36

2,078,060.73%

RealInflation Adjusted

$70,000

$57,349,936.17

81,928.48%

News headlines from 1913

Politics and news often influence economic performance. Here's what was happening at the time:

The House of Commons accepts Home Rule for Ireland.

China's first parliament is opened in Beijing.

The nation of Albania is formed.

The Ford Motor Company introduces the first moving assembly line.

Data Source & Citation

Raw data for these calculations comes from
the Bureau of Labor Statistics'
Consumer Price Index
(CPI), established in 1913. Inflation data from 1665 to
1912 is sourced from a historical study conducted by political science
professor Robert Sahr at Oregon State University.

You may use the following MLA citation for this page:
“$70,000 in 1913 → 2018 | Inflation Calculator.” U.S. Official Inflation Data, Alioth Finance, 25 May. 2019, https://www.officialdata.org/1913-dollars-in-2018?amount=70000.